Vila, a 1996 Olympic bronze-medal wrestler for Cuba, is the field’s oldest competitor at 40 years old. However, he’s had a largely smooth transition in MMA, where he won his first 11 fights (seven via knockout) upon his 2007 debut.

The dynamic striker advanced to the Bellator tourney finale with wins over Joe Warren and Galvao this season before the unanimous-decision loss (via 29-28 scores) to Dantas at Bellator 59.

In addition to bantamweight tournament, the promotion is hosting tourneys in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions in the sixth season. Each tourney winner gets $100,000 in total pay and a guaranteed title shot. Champion Zach Makovsky, who soon meets season-five tourney winner Dantas, currently rules the bantamweight division.

For more on Bellator’s upcoming season, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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